Influence of a Concomitant Medial Meniscus Injury on Knee Joint Function and Osteoarthritis Presence after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Abstract

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to investigate how a medial meniscus injury accompanying an anterior cruciate ligament rupture affects the clinical outcome 10 years after ACL reconstruction. (2) Methods: A total of 37 patients who received anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) were included in this retrospective study. Two groups were analyzed at a single follow-up of 10 years: (i) “isolated (ACLR)” (n = 20) and (ii) “ACLR with medial meniscal injury” (n = 17). The following clinical scores were recorded: International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Lysholm Score and Tegner Activity Score. To determine the degree of osteoarthritis the Kellgren–Lawrence score was used. (3) Results: The “isolated ACLR” study group scored significantly higher (p p p (4) Conclusions: The results of this study further indicate that patients with a concomitant medial meniscus injury have slightly more discomfort in everyday life and increased risk of developing osteoarthritis 10 years after surgery.

Keywords

• anterior cruciate ligament
• ACL
• ACL rupture
• ACL repair
• meniscus injury
• osteoarthritis